"Piece of cake.”  He shrugged.  “Trust me.  I've become an expert in outwitting my parents."

"Well.  I'm glad you're so good at it.  Because that?"  Janie sighed and tried to make her breathing even.  "Could have been really embarrassing."

"We wouldn't want that."  He grinned over at her.

"No.  We wouldn't want that."  She shifted in her seat so that she could get a better look at him. 

"If we had gotten caught - it'd be worth it though."  He smiled slyly.  "You know this isn't the first time something like this has happened." 

"Oh really?"

"The way my father tells it, when the Schrutes first settled here, there was a milkmaid from a neighboring farm…"

She gave him a look.  "You are not seriously equating me to a milkmaid…"

"OK.  That is not the worst thing I could equate you to.  If my father ever mentions 'thirsty babies'…"

"Oh my God.  KURT!"  Janie's mouth widened in shock.  She pulled her coat tighter across her chest suddenly incredibly self conscious.

He chuckled back at her.  "I'm just saying.  You might want to rethink what you're getting into here."

"C’mon.  We've only been on one date."  She laughed.

His face fell and his voice lost its mirth.  "Oh.  I know."

The change in his mood was apparent.   Janie nibbled nervously on her lip.  “Kurt.”

“I know.”  He repeated as he pulled the car to a stop in front of her house.  He shifted to park and kept his hands firmly on the steering wheel.

“No.  I don’t think you do.”  Janie insisted.

Kurt hung his head and stared at the dashboard.  “It’s OK, Janie.  It was nice but…”

“Don’t do that.  Please, Kurt.  Look at me.”

He sat still and didn’t move an inch.

Janie took his chin in her hand and made him meet her eyes.  “No.  Look at me.”  She took a steadying breath.   “Do you know how long I’ve wished for this?  How long I wondered what it would be like to be someplace alone with you?”

Kurt fought to find his voice as he shook his head.  ‘No.”

“Let me tell you – it’s been a long time – a really long time.  And it sort of snuck up on me, actually.  I mean you were just this kid who I had a lot in common with and then one day all of the sudden you were this guy I couldn’t stop thinking about.”

He finally smiled and she smiled right back.

“My parents…” Janie began her eyes flitting from his to linger on his lips.  “They were friends for a long time but they ignored all the signs and by not talking made things much more difficult than they ever needed to be.  I don’t want to do that.  I don’t want to waste that much time.”

It was going to take some getting used to, actually having her here with him instead of just pining away.  He was going to have to work on that.  He began to laugh then, as he stared into her eyes. 

“Wait a second Janie.  Are you proposing?  There are a few problems with that.  Fact.  We are not old enough to legally marry in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.  Fact.  My meagre earnings would not be able to sufficiently support us.  Fact…”

He didn’t get a chance to finish his sentence.  It wound up muffled by Janie’s lips.

She giggled and smiled widely as she eased away and whispered.  “Fact.  You talk too much.”

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

They searched every place they could think of. 

“The farm?”  Dwight offered.

“No.  Not the farm.  She’s the product of slackers.  She wouldn’t know a hard day’s work if it came up and bit her.”  Angela snapped back at him.  “We should head for the interstate.  I’d expect her to lure him to a seedy motel or the like.”

Silence filled the space between them and suddenly Angela had an epiphany.  All at once a sense of calm washed over her.

“I don’t know why I am so worried.  This will never work out.”  She turned and gave Dwight her signature tight lipped smile.  “I should have faith that it’ll end before it actually begins.  Our son is nothing but sensible and level headed.  In the end I am confident he’ll see the light.”

“Do you still want me to call an APB in?”  Dwight asked as he watched his wife deliberately switch off the police scanner that had been squawking in the background.

“I don’t think it will be at all necessary.”  Angela murmured as she took his hand in hers.  She placed it purposely on the top of her thigh as she continued.  “Let’s go home, D.  I've got a new recipe for....cookies I'd like you to sample.”

Per usual, it was all the encouragement he needed.  Pushing the accelerator to the floor, Dwight switched on the flashing red light he’d kept from his volunteer sheriff days and sped straight towards home.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Pam turned over and caught sight of him and sighed. 

“Jim.” 

“What?”  He whispered back.

She moved to sit up and sighed again.  “Step away from the window and come to bed.”

He kept his back to her as he peered through the blinds.  “They’ve been out there for a long time.”

“And?”  Pam yawned.

“And I don’t think all they’re doing is talking.”  He said bitterly.

“OK – Look.  We’ve got to get on the same page with this.  Either we live and let live or we put a stop to it now – before it’s too late.”

Jim reluctantly turned around.  He looked like a little boy who’d lost his puppy.   “We can’t forbid her to date him.”

“You’re right.”  She smiled and held a hand out to him.

He walked back to the bed, took her hand and brushed his lips over her knuckles.  “It won’t stop her.  It’ll make it worse.  She’s stubborn.  Just like her mother.”

Pam agreed completely.  The best way to get Janie to do something is to tell her not to.  She tugged on his hand until he gave in and lay down beside her.  “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

“No.  Not bad at all.”  He replied.  “I was certainly grateful when I came back and realized you weren’t going to let me go without a fight.”

“Janie’s stubborn – but she’s much wiser than I was.”  She added, her eyes twinkling.

He laughed and ran a hand across her cheek.  “She’s dating Dwight’s kid.  She’s not all that wise.”

“Jim.”  Pam scolded.

“I’m kidding.”   He smiled as he leaned close to kiss her.

At that precise moment they heard the sound of keys jingling and the front door snapping shut.

“See?  We can trust her.  She wasn’t out there for that long.”  Pam chuckled at him.  “We’ll see what happens with their second date.”

His first impulse was to rush out into the hallway and inspect his daughter for signs of…well.  He wasn’t sure he wanted to know. 

“Second date?  Please Pam.  Take it easy on me.  I’m begging you.  I’m trying desperately to be OK with this.”  He said as he leaned his forehead against hers.

“I know.”  She laughed as she pulled him closer.  “Too bad you suck at it.”